Marjo and Edwin@Ocean Conservation and Research

Marjo and Edwin, adventurers, seafarers and environmental advocates welcomed me into their house on the ocean in Lanzarote. They are really great people and I hope we can manage to work out something together, bringing them to the Mediterranean Sea on cooperative projects.

Orion of Aberdeen, a 17 meter (54 ft.) Koopmans Vanguard design steel ketch, built in 1988, is their home and they sail throughout the world with a minimal carbon footprint, reaching areas of difficult access and helping us scientists filling data gaps.

Ocean Conservation and Research is a platform for research, a platform for education and a platform for connections: by working together, scientists and citizens and advocates of the sea, we can contribute gathering knowledge about the oceans, their importance, and the threats they are facing, like plastic pollution.

Thanks Marjo and Edwin for the great job and for welcoming me to your world!

IMG_3491

Orion of Aberdeen in Lanzarote, May 2016. @LG

IMG_3481

Marjo and Edwin on their sailing boat. @LG

 

First FreshWater Watch Project in Italy! POSEIDOMM-outreach

Hi, I am Luisa. I am an acquatic scientist working at the University of Siena, Italy, with Prof. Steven Loiselle. I am really proud to present the first citizen-science FreshWater Watch project in Italy! I live in the countryside between Florence and Siena, and managed to create a group of people interested in supporting scientific research while getting their feet on the water for a while! This group of people consists of high-school students and interested citizens.

On Friday 13th of May, we organized an event in the village of Sambuca Val Di Pesa, Municipality of Tavarnelle Val di Pesa, Province of Florence, Italy. There is an historical attention to water resources and culture of respect for the environment, as a local community has lived along the Pesa River for centuries and is very keen in understanding and monitoring the state of the ecosystem.

On monday morning (16th of May), we held a lecture to 22 high-school students from the Liceo Linguistico Giovanni Pascoli in Florence. Together with their Science Professor, Bruna Figliomeni, the students agreed to monitor key rivers of the Arno basin (5th biggest river in Italy, 1st River in Tuscany, flowing to the Tyrrenian Sea). By this joint effort, we manage to cover many points in this area by citizen-scientists' observations (see map).

In my scientific research, I am focused on marine litter and bio-geo-chemical cycling of anthropogenic compounds in marine environments. I have a European Fellowship for a project called POSEIDOMM (www.poseidomm.eu), looking at the interaction of microplastics with organic matter in the ocean. In POSEIDOMM, we combine scientific research with outreach activities and science communication. So, what brings me to the river (besides the fact that I don't live by the coast)? Well, we all know that ecosystems are complex. And aquatic ecosystems are all connected. As water flows from the river to the sea, so does litter flowing along. And it is estimated that globally, 80% of the debris found at sea have a terrestrial origin (GESAMP, 1991). There we go, clean rivers, clean seas. So, the first step is to create consciousness, make people aware that the problem exists, and it is connected to our everyday lifestyle. FreshWater Watch is a powerful tool as it allows people everywhere in the world to discover, collect scientific data and discuss by comparing local results to global results on the state of freshwater systems. And, by gathering information on litter we can eventually estimate the amount of debris transported to the Tyrrenian Sea by local rivers in Tuscany. Friday evening was meant to present the project and recruit volunteers and I think we did it pretty well by showing a documentary on garbage patches in the ocean. The Mediterranean Sea is not much different in litter concentration than other oceanic gyres. That was shocking, fo me too, used to see that kind of things.

The rest was pretty easy, we live in a privileged community, where recycling rate is almost 87%, a lot for a small European municipality! So, people are generally respectful of the environment and interested in knowing more, and doing more. Then, Prof. Loiselle and myself explained the purpose of the project. Why joining FreshWater Watch as a group of volunteers, why in Tavarnelle, specifically asking to monitor litter besides nutrients, phosphates, turbidity and the other FreshWater Watch parameters. Gianluca, probably the first FWW citizen-scientist in Italy, was there as well to share his experience and motivate people in doing the same. We gathered a group of about 14 people and the Municipality of Tavarnelle Val di Pesa (to which Sambuca belongs to) has given us full support in the future months to come. Next step, will come the training of the volunteers, I will keep you posted!

With the students, it's another story. I have to say that the class is highly motivated, all in the age of 18, and they'll have to choose their way by next year, I mean, they'll have to decide (if they haven't already) what they want to be in the world, and how, whether they want to undertake scientific careers at university (or not), and if they want to go to university at all. In any case, they have to be aware of what they do not want in their future. And I bet, none of them wants dirty rivers, dirty seas, polluted air. It does not matter whether they'll be scientists one day. It does not matter what their future profession will be. The environmental awareness goes further beyond than that. Everybody needs clean water. It's about the future they want, and how to contribute to build it. And, this class will be also the first class in Italy taking part in FreshWater Watch research! I told them they should be proud of it. I am curious of the results, now we just have to set the sails and let this adventure start.

Original post published in FreshWater Watch blogs page, please visit: https://freshwaterwatch.thewaterhub.org/blogs/citizen-observatory-environmental-monitoring-first-project-italy-students-and-citizens

Osservatorio cittadino per il monitoraggio del fiume Pesa

volantino_acque_piccolo

Il Comune di Tavarnelle Val di Pesa in collaborazione con l’Associazione Cittadinanza Attiva e Partecipazione organizza venerdì 13 maggio 2016 alle ore 21:15 presso la Sala Don Bruni del Circolo MCL di Sambuca Val di Pesa l’iniziativa:

  • Presentazione del progetto “Osservatorio cittadino per il monitoraggio del fiume Pesa – FreshWater Watch – dell’EarthWatch Institute
  • Proiezione del documentario “Plastic Paradise – The Great Pacific Garbage Patch”

Interverranno:

  • David Baroncelli, Sindaco di Tavarnelle Val di Pesa
  • Marco Rustioni, Assessore Politiche Ambientali di Tavarnelle Val di Pesa
  • Steven Loiselle, The EarthWatch Institute, Università di Siena
  • Luisa Galgani, Coordinatrice del progetto, Università di Siena
  • Gianluca Gasperini, citizen – scientist, Università di Siena

 Original post: http://www.tavarnellevp.it/in-primo-piano/1316-progetto-osservatorio-cittadino-per-monitoraggio-pesa

Scarica la locandina dell’evento in formato PDF qui.

High School Marine Debris talk – Florence

“Water and air, the two essential fluids on which all life depends, have become global garbage cans.”

— Jacques Yves Cousteau, Oceanographer

One hour with highly interested and motivated students of the IV D/L Liceo Linguistico Giovanni Pascoli (Florence, Italy) about marine debris…check out the NOAA Trash Talks that helped me a lot for this class!

Art by Bonnie Louise Monteleone, The Plastic Ocean Project

Art by Bonnie Louise Monteleone, The Plastic Ocean Project